!Xaus Lodge

What an amazing experience to stay in this local community owned hotel. The food is local and delicious, the guides are so knowledgeable and made sure we had the best experience possible. We enjoyed the most beautiful sunset in the desert, were able to watch the stars and the milky way, and slept to the sound of a lion nearby. Highly recommend!

!Xaus is in a stark and remote part of the park. It has the potential to be a most amazing destination though it is not there yet. The night skies and view over a salt pan is unparalleled. The service and nature staff are absolutely sweet and giving. ||However there are issues. Firstly, insufficient game drive options and sparse game. Game is very sparse compared to SANParks locations. The main attraction is that lions etc come to drink at freshwater bird baths which allow guests to see them close up if they are lucky. That made the experience better for us But we saw very little game or birds relative to rest of park. Fine if you are expecting it. The scenery is amazing.|Also, management is not attuned to needs of luxury lodge guests.Antony has an abrasive personality and was entirely dismissive about our prior meal requests saying “it’s too hard”. It wasn’t since they have those products where he shops in upington but he obviously didn’t care to try. We didn’t mind as we had an alternative but it was more the rudeness with which he dismissed it- far from experience at other lodges. They also would not write up our vegetarian menu on the the board even when we comprised 4 out of 5 guests at night- would write up menu of the other single guest and leave us having to ask the staff what things were. There is no choice in food and a guest asking for extra veggies was told it wasn’t possible.|The lodge is supposed to be about the Khoisan and this doesn’t come through. The indigenous staff are not involved in welcoming guests etc and, seem subservient to the abrasive manager in a very old fashioned way not reflective of South Africa in 2024 or other lodges. It was very uncomfortable. When someone mentioned giving smaller portions of food on plate so it didn’t go to waste the manageress said it wouldn’t as someone in kitchen was always hungry- are staff eating leftovers from guest plates? That’s depressing. Another staff member mentioned a part of the park that only Antony and his special guests were allowed in. I thought it was owned by the Khoisan? Why can’t they go there? The rooms are average and have no aircon which the SANParks camps have. However we left feeling that the land restitution has failed in true empowerment and we felt a bit depressed by the experience. |Pros: night skies, pans, scenery, possible close up lions|Cons: average food and rooms, strange vibes

The two stars are for Koos and Donovan, incredibly knowledgeable guides. The rest of the two night stay was a big disappointment. Dietary requirements forgotten (there were only two other guests so not a lot to remember), food absolutely awful. The last morning you are whisked away by 9am so no morning activity. This could have been communicated on booking as it messed up our plans for the next day. The watering hole needs to be painted as the swimming pool blue colour is completely out of place in this setting. Anyway don't come here to see animals because you won't. When asked what the minced meat was at lunch we were told perhaps it was "donkey". No alternative offered when they realised their mistake. Two of the five meals I had at the lodge were inedible. At our briefing the manager told us running a lodge is not "rocket science" - seems it is more difficult than that.

We spent 4 nights here and thoroughly enjoyed it. Considering its extremely remote location (350km from the nearest town), they provide excellent hospitality and catering. The chalets were clean comfortable, and the beds have electric blankets for the cold winter nights. Each has a view of the large watering hole in the salt pan that was visited regularly by antelope and jackal on our visit. We were incredibly lucky to see lions on our night drive and again when they came to drink from one of the smaller watering holes near the entrance to the lodge. We stood within a few meters of them on the lodge decking and I don't think I will ever forget it. We also regularly had jackals and mongoose walking around chalet. The Kalahari park might not have all the big 5 but we saw more than enough to keep things interesting and plenty of things that we had never seen before (meerkat, honey badger and many different birds of prey). It was probably the most peaceful and relaxing place I have stayed.

We spent two nights in this expensive private lodge and had high expectations given by the photos of the site, unfortunately it didn't go that way. The location is certainly very suggestive and the chalets very beautiful, the cuisine very well cared for but there is a but. I state that we were the only guests which amazed me as at the booking it seemed fully booked so that we had to move the dates. The first night around 11 pm there were loud squeasing and noises of scratching nails, coming from the nests of bats in the roof inside the chalet, bats that then began to fly and emit verses throughout the night. They scare me a lot so I spent the whole night awake huddled under the blankets while my husband tried to get them out. In the morning I reported everything to Antony, the manager, who spread his arms saying that they don't bother him. I expect such an answer from a staff member at Twee Rivieren where I pay 1000 rand a night, but not in a 22,000 rand private lodge. Although nothing would have changed, he should have proposed to change chalets since they were all empty and only 4 other people would arrive. The next night, same thing, however, I slept in the bathroom sitting on a chair with my feet on the toilet. In the morning when Antony the manager asked me how it went and I told him he smiled .... I'm a stupid tourist ok course ...... Let's move on to activities. A 55 minute night drive, a 50 minute morning walk and a 1 hour and 30 minute sunset drive We have been going to South Africa for 23 years and we know the natural environment well and it is not the first time we have gone to a private lodge, but we have never had such a treatment. I wrote an email on my return to the company that manages the lodge, no answer Money really wasted

We stayed at the lodge for 3 days. This is beautifully located. The service and friendliness is excellent. Great game drives. If you are looking for a little paradise, you definitely have to come to this place. We'll definitely be back!

Amazing lodge in the Kalahari. Fantastic place to unplug from the world. No internet, TV or phone. Just pure silence of the desert. The views of the pan from the rooms is brilliant. Food was excellent considering the remote location. Room are not fancy but are comfortable and have everything you need. Game drives and nature walks were very interesting. While not the animal numbers of Kruger, high quality sightings. Cheetah, Caracal, Honey Badger and wildcat were big bonus items.

Beautiful remote lodge, out of the world, where you can hear the sound of silence in the darkness of the night. Anthony and Suzy have been extremely helpful when we had a car issue, thank you so much for your help ! Hendrick and Kali were great guides, sharing their knowledge about animals, their spurs, plants and everything we wanted to know. The food was very nice, meals always a happy moment shared with people we didn’t know before, all linked by love of nature. Not to forget the leopard seen on our last evening and on our departure!! !Xaus will remain a great memory for us!!